Ok, I kinda liked the thread about flylady vs homecleaning because I got to read how others do their housework and I came away with some ideas. I'd like to start a thread and have this about what cleaning tools specifically make house cleaning easier for you and shave time. I'm a first time mom of a 5 mo. old and am just now getting energy to get back into some type of order in my house so every little bit helps. One thing I have learned about housecleaning is that tools help tremendously in terms of being a motivator to keeping the house cleaner.

I'll give an example of what makes tools (anything can be a tool if it helps you) have really lightened up my load.

You can get it elsewhere cheaper and faster where it isn't on backorder if you check around. Sometimes malls have as seen on tv or interesting product stores that sell this. I liked it because it replaced my icky dustpan and broom. It gets behind the toilet and all sorts of crevices. I was hesitant on buying it because I could find very few reviews online about it but so far I'm very happy with it. Not only does this shave time but it doesn't stir up the dust like the broom does and I look more forward to doing it.

The other item that has made housecleaning faster are those disinfectant wipes. You can get them at the dollar store too typically. I put them in the bathroom and every 3 days after I am in there, I just wipe things down. Takes less than one minute.

I've been making changes slowly incorporating great tools into housecleaning and I'm finding I'm spending less time cleaning without compromising anything which is always a good thing. I have more items I use but would rather hold off and see what all your ideas are before letting out a few more of my secrets. And NO my house will never be one of those homes featured in homes and gardens . I just want it liveable and clean.

Sorry if this has already been done. I dabble in a few areas on this website and it's hard to keep up hehe with every thread so if I"m duplicating efforts..yell! Feel free to link also pages where household reviews are located.

~ Swiffer Wet Jet
~ Ostrich Feather Duster
~ Brawny Microfiber Cloths (for streak-free mirrors)
~ Timer (I never thought to use one of these until I joined Flylady. Now I know why they use it - it helps to motivate me into cleaning faster to beat the clock )

I have one of those feather dusters from Flylady and it does make regular dusting easier.

Other than that, I have a mop (that I've never used, I use towels to wash the floors.) a broom, a vacuum cleaner, dishbrushes in the kitchen sink (one for meat and one for dairy) a toilet brush, and a spray bottle that I keep filled with my homemade all purpose cleaner. That and a bunch of washcloths and small towels and I'm all set!

Ruth, single mommy to Leah, 19 (in Israel for another school year), Hannah, 18 (commuting to college), and Jack, 12(homeschooled)

Other than that, I have a mop (that I've never used, I use towels to wash the floors.) a broom, a vacuum cleaner, dishbrushes in the kitchen sink (one for meat and one for dairy) a toilet brush, and a spray bottle that I keep filled with my homemade all purpose cleaner. That and a bunch of washcloths and small towels and I'm all set!

That's pretty much all I use as well. I really don't use the vaccuum that much, as it's just too heavy for me, we don't have much carpet and I prefer sweeping. I do also have a couple of old toothbrushes set aside for cleaning in between the knobs of our bathroom sink.

All the disposable convenience tools (Swiffers, throw away Pledge sheets, disposable toilet brushes . . . .) really annoy me. I can't help but picture a heaping landfill everytime I see a commercial for one of these products. I actually get an odd sense of satisfaction (or is it superiority?) from using my good old fashioned broom and then getting down on my hands and knees with a bowl of water and a rag. DS loves to get his bowl and rag and "help" too. We gave him a tiny broom and dust pan for Christmas and he basically scatters my dirt pile as I go, but it's kind of hard to mind.

another vote for the steam cleaner -- love that i can sterilize without chem's or even without contact surfaces. I can wipe things away after the steam disinfects, so it's easier to use cloth diapers since they don't get all germy.

life is also easier with a really good vac. we went for the kenmore progressive and we've been happy with it. love that it has a special motored attachment for cleaning stairs

another vote for the steam cleaner -- love that i can sterilize without chem's or even without contact surfaces. I can wipe things away after the steam disinfects, so it's easier to use cloth diapers since they don't get all germy.

hmmm, I am gonna look into those more, I have seen a comerciall on TV again last night and kinda wondered how well they really did.
I am a Bounty paper towels addict , really am, I LOVE cleanning with them. Also, my Oreck vacuum cleaner makes my life easier when it comes to cleanning part of my kitchen. The house we are in has partially carpet in the dinning area , so I put a carpet on top of the carpet, so I have to vacuum it daily. LOVE Downy...I have a friend who just had a baby at home and she stained her brand new matress with blood. I was at her house yesterday helping her get the stains out. Well, Downy and cold water DID it ALL, it got the 1 week old stain out. Also, my little green machine is a GREAT friend. Also, my sweet husban is a wonderful help around the house.

LOVE Downy...I have a friend who just had a baby at home and she stained her brand new matress with blood. I was at her house yesterday helping her get the stains out. Well, Downy and cold water DID it ALL, it got the 1 week old stain out.

Can you tell me how you do it? Do you use it like you would soap and water? Never heard this before.

I just put cold water in a bowl and added a little of the Downy, with a rug I scrubbed really well after I soaked the mattress where the spot was. Then I got my greem mean machine and sucked it all out. It WORKED, both my friend and I were in awe!!!

Disinfectant wipes and my vacuum are really the only two useful cleaning tools I have that make things easier. Swiffer products don't do anything for me, probably b/c of the amount of dog hair I have to pick up. I'm trying very hard to convince DH to please please please buy me a Dyson Animal!

Love my rags, but I don't reuse, because things get moldy in my house, and there's too much laundry to do, and the laundromat is too far away as it is. . . . .

I love Sal Suds, I'll use that, or a sprinkle of dish soap that I keep in a spray bottle, then hot water and a mop to rinse, to clean my kitchen floor. I love my mop, it's a string mop that self wrings. I love my new ostrich feather duster, I got it at Whole Foods, and it was cheaper than Flylady's. . . . .

Also i have some scrubber brushes, sponges, pumice stone, clorox and love hydrogen peroxide - hp gets out a lot of stains without resorting to clorox (I don't actually use bleach, much).

My favorite cleaning thing is a natural hair brush, that I can hold in my hand, it's really cool, and lasts a lot longer than sponges. . . . .

I just put cold water in a bowl and added a little of the Downy, with a rug I scrubbed really well after I soaked the mattress where the spot was. Then I got my greem mean machine and sucked it all out. It WORKED, both my friend and I were in awe!!!

I have hardwoods and the swiffer cloths are really helpful to pick up all the pet and people hair that accumulates. I just peel off the dust and hair that accumulates on the cloth and reuse it until it gets gunked up with something sticky.

I use peroxide as well for stains.

That is about it for me for gadgets. I am seeking a good mop and have yet to find it. I hate cleaning the floors on my hands and knees.

that health food store non chlorine bleach, is hydrogen peroxide! So, just use a cup or so in you wash. Note: for stains that don't come out in the wash, I use 1 to 3 parts water, or even full strength - be careful, though it can put holes in clothing, but it isn't near as damaging as clorox. And, I let the item(s) soak in the hp, overnight, then rinse and repeat as necessary.

Also, if nothing works and I need to use bleach, I put some on a Qtip, so I can spot treat, I leave it on overnight, or rinse when the stain disappears. I wouldn't rely on hp or clorox, if I could hang clothes in the sun. . . .I think tough stains could be treated with hp, and hung to dry in the sun. . . .

Our vaccuum cleaner died a few weeks ago, and the big box store we bought it from gave us a full price exchange for it (we had the extended warranty).

When I went in to look around, I just happened to see a floor model Dyson on super-duper sale-about 1/4 of the price of a new one. I have been coveting these for a while (and this is so not like me). It was missing one measly little attachment (to make the extendible wand work) that I ordered from Dyson direct no problem and quite inexpensively.

I bought it and I have to say I am in love with an appliance. We have a sheddy dog and this vaccuum sucks like no other, and it's so easy to use. It also has a hard floor feature so I just go from carpet to hardwood to tile and with a flick of a knob it picks everything up. SO convenient.

So besides this, I love microfiber cloths, and I love using the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products (the lavender scent is divine). Also use Dr. Bronners.

I also cannot stand any of the one time use products such as swiffer, pre-moistened cloths and disposable toilet brushes. Such waste, and so bad for the environment. I really don't see how they make like "that" much easier, I have my little carrier that has all of my cleaning supplies and tools in it and I just tote it around the house.

Microfiber clothes are my fave! I like to use them on a swiffer that I was given along with my spray bottle of vinager & water. I use this damp mop technique on most days. Once a week I get down on my hands and knees with my bucket & rubber gloves & use a microfiber cloth to scrub the whole floor. I use them on mirrors with the same solution. I find that doing a little bit each day helps make the once a week stuff much easier. If you normally use a dry swiffer you can use a dry microfiber cloth it works ever better! I wish I could calculate how much $ I have saved making up my own solutions!

We have a cat and I have very long hair, and we both shed. I use a Swiffer base with microfiber cloths (instead of the throwaway ones) for picking up dust and hair on the floor. No carpet in our house--all hardwood except for the bathroom. I love the microfiber cloths--I use them on their own and as diaper inserts, too!

What is the ratio of vinegar to water you use, EricaLeigh? I am still experimenting with vinegar as a cleaner and haven't come up with an all-purpose solution I'm happy with. However, I often use white vinegar in a spray bottle followed with hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant--I can't use chlorine bleach, and this combo is supposed to disinfect just as well. But don't mix them--use them one after the other. It doesn't matter which one first.

I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds and peppermint soap. I use Lifetree Lavendar spray cleaner in the bathroom and for quick grime cleanups.

I don't measure or anything But when I started I did it 50:50, this was a few years ago, things were kinda streaky. Now I pour about 2 inches or so of vinegar into an old windex bottle then fill with water & shake. This is my all purpose solution. Windows, mirrors, floors counter tops, you name it I spray it & wipe with microfiber cloths!

I second the Dyson! Weve got 2 dogs and 2 long haired cats.....and it works wonders!! I never thought Id spend so much on a cleaning appliance, but Im so glad I did!

Also.....I found a microfiber head mop I think at WalMart (before I started boycotting it) and it has a swivel head. Its long and rectangle, perfect for geting into corners. I use it dry to pick up dust on tile floors, and wet to wash them. I love this thing!!

Clean House Clean Planet.......best book on the subject of making your own natural cleaning products. Id love to sit down and figure out how much I save not buying these products, and supporting the chemical industry too! I buy baking soda and vinegar at Costco....they even have a great deal on the sprayers too!